Huge wildfire breaks out near Tunisian capital

A huge wildfire broke out in Hammam-Lif town in the northeastern Tunisian province of Ben Arous, nearly 20 km away from the capital Tunis.

The fire spread quickly on Tuesday and ravaged a large part of the nearby mountain Boukornine, one of the most famous mountains in Tunisia, Xinhua news agency reported, citing private radio station Mosaique FM.

It took firefighters several hours to control the fire and stop its spread, said the report.

Local authorities called in the national army, and military helicopters were also deployed. Around ten civil defense vehicles were on the ground, supported by several forest guard vehicles.

There was no official word on the cause of the fire, and the firefighters are still working to extinguish it.

Tunisia has been experiencing hot summer weather over the last two weeks.